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Fire ravages Queen St. W.

When the sun finally cut through the smoke cloaking Queen St. W. yesterday morning, the Duke family got a clear view of what was left of their family business.

Firefighters douse the smouldering remains of an enormous fire that ruined many of the heritage buildings on the south side of Queen St. W. between Portland and Bathurst Sts. on Feb. 20, 2008.
(MICHAEL STUPARYK / TORONTO STAR)

By Emily MathieuPaola LoriggioStaff Reporters

Thu., Feb. 21, 2008

When the sun finally cut through the smoke cloaking Queen St. W. yesterday morning, the Duke family got a clear view of what was left of their family business.

Nothing.

The fire that started at dawn and tore through almost a full city block of Queen St., between Portland and Bathurst Sts., took a big part of the area's history and of the Duke family's spirit with it.

"It does feel like someone died," said Justine Duke, 32.

The six-alarm fire, which started at 615 Queen St. W., gutted six businesses, brought the entire three-storey building housing Duke's Cycle to the ground, and caused heavy water and smoke damage to at least four more businesses.

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The area will be closed off until at least the end of the week. No one was injured, but about 60 people lost either their job or their homes, some of them in apartments over the gutted stores.

The Dukes have been selling bikes, parts and sporting goods from their shop at 625 Queen St. W. for more than nine decades. Four generations have dedicated themselves to a place that had transformed over time from a humble sports shop to a cultural hub.

Across the street from Duke's remains, a small crowd of neighbourhood regulars and residents mournfully watched the smouldering rubble from the local hangout Shanghai Cowgirl. Like most businesses on the block, the café was closed and without power, but staff served tea to firefighters and onlookers seeking refuge.

Conversations were nostalgic and grim. "The whole street looks like a war zone," said one man, describing the scene to a friend on his cellphone. Outside, firefighters chipped ice off the hoses and sprayed the burning wreckage, already frosted with icicles.

"It's terrible for the area," said Kevin Shawcross, a Cowgirl employee, as he stared through a bay window. "There are tons of big-box stores just waiting to swoop in (for the land)," he added, voicing a common worry.

Many fear the block, a long-beloved area of the city's avant-garde – although one dotted with its share of crime and grime as well – will be impossible to rebuild, even though its characteristic style must be preserved under city regulations. The area, a mix of low-level storefronts topped with apartments, was designated a heritage conservation area in the fall.

"This is everything I have, trust me," said Shumin Noel, the owner of Dollar'n More at 633 Queen St. W. Noel and her children, ages 6 and 16, had just enough time to put on warm clothes before they ran from their home, an apartment close to the store.

All she had was the clothing on her back.

"I have money in the cash register," she added. "All my ID, everything, is inside."

"It's a tragedy on so many levels," said city Councillor Adam Vaughan as he warmed up in the café. "These are some of the oldest Victorian storefronts in the city."

Vaughan, who moved in to the neighbourhood after high school, said city building inspectors will assess the damage once the fire investigation is complete.

The inspectors can then determine how much of the structures can be salvaged.

"It's going to change the whole neighbourhood," he said, shaking his head.

"People have lost their homes, their businesses, and the neighbourhood has lost part of its identity," said 32-year-old Matt Weir, who had been told to leave his home at 165 Bathurst St. at 6:30 a.m. and was waiting to find out if he could return. "Everything about that neighbourhood is gone," said his neighbour, Cheryl Lone, 31.

Duke remained hopeful.

"Because it was designated a historical area recently I think it would be a big fight," she said about keeping big-box stores out.

"I think if anything people will feel more passionate about keeping it real and keeping it about small businesses."

Felix Alexander Duke opened Duke's doors in 1914 after immigrating to Canada from Poland. The family's current patriarch, Henry, was born in an apartment above the store in 1924. He had four sons, including Gary – Justine's father – who now runs the store.

Duke said she's unable to remember a time in her life when her last name didn't elicit stories from Torontonians about buying their first bike at Duke's. Or being fitted for skates in the basement, a service they still offered.

"I loved coming in the morning and seeing my grandfather shaving" in his office mirror, said Duke. He made a point of coming into the store at least three times every week, she said.

Her grandmother, Mary, still does the books. "It's a modern family business but she still comes in and writes the books in a ledger," said Duke.

Teacher and artist David Robinson, 48, first wandered into Duke's in 1986. "The family was so great, so kind. They had deep personal relationships with everyone on staff."

It would be hard to imagine the smartly dressed men and primly clad women of 1914 next to the almost futuristic army of commuters and messengers weaving high-end bikes through the city today.

Duke's daughter said the shop has brought together bike enthusiasts in many ways.

"We know hundreds of couples who have met and fallen in love through the store," she said. Duke met her partner Lorne Anderson 11 years ago. She returned from university, he was working as a mechanic – something clicked. It is also the place her father met her mother.

"My dad, his life has been that store. I think he will do everything he can to rebuild it. But at this point it's too soon to say."

Yesterday morning her father, Gary Duke, said he had no way to predict what the future of Duke's would be.

"My building has collapsed, it's gone. I don't know what to do," he said. "My biggest fear now is with the insurance company."

As he paced and watched firefighters tend to the smoking remains of his family's history, he joked about the possible resurrection of Duke's. "Maybe it will be called Phoenix Bikes.

"We'll be back hopefully in two to three weeks. But maybe not at the same location."

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